POC expects more RP bets to go to Athens

The Philippines is confident of adding eight to 10 more Olympic berths to the 12 it already booked in various sports disciplines to further boost its bid for a first-ever gold in the Olympic Games.

"We’re expecting few more athletes to qualify in the coming months, maybe not more than 10," said Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit after the General Assembly meeting yesterday at the Milky Way restaurant in Makati City.

Although he admitted that the level of competition in the Olympic Games gets tougher and tougher each edition, Dayrit remained hopeful the country will finally bag the elusive gold this year in Athens, Greece.

"The Olympics has always been a tough competition and it’s getting tougher every four years. But we’re still hopeful of our chances, maybe in boxing or taekwondo, because of our athletes’ never-say-die spirit," added Dayrit, who is also the chairman of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Philsoc).

Dayrit said the country is pinning its hopes on judo, triathlon, rowing, fencing, boxing and shooting which will hold their respective Olympic qualifiers in the coming months.

In fact, the talented brother-sister tandem of Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion are currently competing in Inchon, Korea, seeking qualifying points for badminton.

Harry Tañamor, on the other hand, will try to nail a berth in the Olympics after two failed bids as he heads a crack RP team in the third and final Olympic qualifier in boxing set this month in Pakistan.

Dayrit also explained that the POC will shoulder all the expenses of athletes, coaches and officials going to the Olympics, estimated to cost the committee P120,000 to P150,000 per person.

The country has so far booked a dozen berths to the quadrennial meet, three each from boxing through Fil-Am Chris Camat, Romeo Brin and Violito Payla and taekwondo on the efforts of Tshomlee Go, Donald Geisler and Ma. Antonette Rivero.

Swimming has also sent three tankers to Athens–United States-based Miguel Molina, Miguel Mendoza and Sydney Olympics veteran Juan Carlo Piccio.

Archer Jasmine Figueroa also clinched an Olympic slot as a wild card entry while the athletics association will field in steeplechaser Eduardo Buenavista and long jumper Lerma Bulauitan-Gabito to fill in two seats allotted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the centerpiece track and field event.